Standards-based Report Cards International School Eastern Seaboard

Standards Content standards are designed to encourage the highest achievement of every student, by defining the knowledge, concepts, and skills that students should acquire at each grade level. From California State Board of Education

Why Standards-based Assessment? Schools need to now focus on educating all students and find an appropriate way to report their performance, rather than using grades to sort students, as educators have traditionally done (Robertson, 2004).

Preparing your child for future education Standards-based assessment will encourage your child to focus on what they know and what need to work on Students can articulate their strengths and areas of growth Knowing what they need to work on will prepare them for future educational demands Instead of focusing on a grade they will focus on what they need to do to be proficient

Schools already using standards-based assessment in secondary school Hong Kong International School Shekou International School Jakarta International School Beijing BISS International School Concordia International School Shanghai A number of other schools are in the process of creating standards-based report cards ISE elementary school has been using standards-based reporting for four years

Traditional Assessment/Reporting Sort and select students Not all students can learn, that education should "tease out" the very best, and that some students should fail Principles, policies, processes, practices, programs and procedures were developed in which all students were taught the same way, given the same amount of time, and tested with assessments based on the "normal" (bell-shaped) curve

Standards-based Assessment/Reporting Students do learn at different rates and in different ways Virtually all students can learn Given appropriate time and instruction and clear expectations, many of the students previously written off can meet or exceed rigorous academic standards

PurposeFromTo Who is Expected to Learn? Learning is the birthright of high social-economic students All students can learn given the appropriate time and instruction ImpactNot all students can learn. The best and brightest survive. Equity means students have equal access to programs that result in unequal performance by groups. Each student is expected to meet or exceed standards. Equity means that each student receives instruction and time required to reach the standard. While all students reach the standard, differences in performance still exist.

Standards-based systems Clear focus on high but achievable targets for students to meet Not comparing students to the performance of other students Content standards precisely describe what students are expected to know and be able to do

ProcessesFromTo How do Students Learn? Students learn in a linear fashion at the same rate. Learning is uniquely individual to the student, non-linear, and based upon previous learning. Impact Instruction is teacher centered. Learning is passive. Students work individually, orderly, quiet. The distribution of student scores resembles the normal curve. Less than 10% do top quality work and failure is acceptable. Instruction is tailored to the unique needs of the students. Learning is an active process. Arrangement of students from individual to group work changes continually throughout the day. Teachers are facilitators rather than dispensers of knowledge. All students meet or exceed performance standards.

From Ken O’Connor Standards-based assessment practices “deemphasizes traditional grades, demystifies the entire grading process, and focuses on the process of learning and the progress of the individual student. All these desirable characteristics occur because the prime purpose of grades is recognized as communication, not competition, and determining student grades is based on pedagogy that views the teacher’s role as supporting learning and encouraging student success.” Ken O’Connor, How to Grade for Learning: Linking Grades to Standards, Corwin Press, 2002

Four Components of Standards- based Assessment Students are aware of the criteria (what they need to learn) Students know in advance what the assessment will be based upon Students are provided with feedback in order to improve Students are provided with opportunities to show improvement in order to be successful

Purpose of the Report Card The purpose of the Middle School report card is: To involve parents and students while enhancing communication with the school. To communicate behaviors needed to support learning. To report your child’s progress towards meeting curricular standards. To inform parents about your child’s successes and to suggest further direction.

Work Habits and Behaviors/ESLRs

Curricular Standards

Reflection As we embark on the standards-based journey we need to take time to celebrate successes and reflect on what we have done and where we are headed. This is a process that requires commitment from teachers, students, administrators and parents.

Questions Home language focus groups Talk to parent focus group Talk to teacher report card team

Thank You Parent Group James Costa Sheila VanBeek Mandy Wells Chu Thongdeelert Dimpy Kongsiri Kate Wongdeethai Colleen Cuevas Erin Short Leslie May Teacher Group Kelley Potisit Kristen Knudsen Dan Knudsen Cindy Kohoutek Heather Murray